#befaithful – herbcotton.org

Who Do You Represent?

Text:

Genesis 40:7-8 (ESV)

7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”

8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

Observation:

We see in this selected passage from a larger story that Joseph was a man of God. However, he was given a gift from God to be able to interpret dreams. But, notice that Joseph did not attribute that power to himself. Rather, he gave the glory to God. He said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?”

Genesis 41:15-16 (ESV)

15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

Joseph is not alone in being a representative for God. One of the ways he carried out this function was the gift of interpretations of dreams. However, it was God doing it through him.

Every believer in Jesus has the privilege of being an ambassador of God as the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Corinth.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, I pray for the humility to always remember that we are ambassadors of the King of Kings, and that nothing is impossible when You are in it. Father, give us the grace, and power to represent You well. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

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Who Are You Living For?

Text:

Ephesians 2:8-10 (HCSB)

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

Observation:

The compelling desire of my life is to be pleasing to God in everything I say, and in everything I do.

What a wonderful change has been made in me since Jesus came into my life, and took up permanent residence.

My soul sings of His wondrous work: “I’m so glad, Jesus lifted me,

I’m so glad, Jesus lifted me,

singing glory, hallelujah,

Jesus lifted me”.

These are three things that are foundational principles that I live by in my daily life.

Worship – I will worship the Lord everyday.

Psalm 34:1 (HCSB)

1 I will praise the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.

Walk – I can’t even walk unless God is holding my hand.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 (NLT)

1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.

2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Work out what God has deposited in me.

Philippians 2:12-13 (HCSB)

12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13 For it is God who is working in you, {enabling you} both to desire and to work out His good purpose.

Is the focus of your life about your worship, walk and work for the Lord? To live in this world you need to know the Lord, and be known by Him, and received from God the gift of eternal life.

The secret to living for Jesus is to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

Galatians 5:16 (NLT)

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Prayer:

Father, we give glory and honor to You, and to Jesus, our Savior and the Lord of our life.

Father, thank you for your loving-kindness, and your tender mercies that you have give to your children in abundance.

Father, we ask for more of Thee, and less of me in our daily worship, walk, and work. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

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Who Owns the Battle You Are Facing?

Text:

Psalm 9:1-4 (HCSB)

1 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart; I will declare all Your wonderful works.

2 I will rejoice and boast about You; I will sing about Your name, Most High.

3 When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

4 For You have upheld my just cause; You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.

Observation:

This world is not a perfect place, and it can never be made perfect by man. Jesus told His disciples what they would be facing so that they would not be surprised when trouble comes.

John 16:33 (HCSB)

33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

The best way for the believer to live in this world is to live in Christ, walk in His will, and stay close to the Lord.

The secret to living the overcoming life in this fallen world is do the will of God, and praise and thank God with your whole heart. Our part is to be courageous, and trust in the Lord with our whole heart. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Psalm 9:4 (HCSB)

4 For You have upheld my just cause; You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.

Prayer:

Father, we give praise to You for You are righteous and just in all Your ways. Father, our hearts are filled with gratitude for Your wondrous works.

Psalm 40:5 (HCSB)

5 LORD my God, You have done many things— Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak ?of them?, they are more than can be told.

Father, thank You for giving us perfect peace in the midst of our storm tossed lives. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

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Do You Desire These 3 Traits?

Text:

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (HCSB)

13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong.

14 Your every ?action? must be done with love.

Observation:

Today I have three things that Paul said to the Corinthians in his letter to them on my mind. I conclude from reading this letter that our problems may be big, but our God is bigger.

Do you desire to become more of these three things?

Be Alert

Mark 13:33 (HCSB)

33 Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is ?coming?.

1 Peter 5:8 (HCSB)

8 Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

Be Strong

Joshua 1:9 (HCSB)

9 Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Ephesians 6:10 (HCSB)

10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.

Be Love

1 John 4:7-8 (HCSB)

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Prayer:

Father, I exalt Your name and Your Word. Father, we need You, and can’t make it without You.

Father, help us, who are called Christ followers, to be alert, to be strong, and to be love. Father, draw us closer to You in righteousness, and in truth. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

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What Is My Purpose for Being Alive?

Text:

Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Observation:

Jesus had a special name; an exalted name, the name that is above every name. His name also revealed His purpose for coming into the world.

Matthew 1:21 (ESV)

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The word that is stuck in my head today is purpose. When I think about Jesus the next word that comes into my mind today is others. These words leap off the page, “He will save his people from their sins”.

O, that Christ followers today would learn from His example of having compassion and concern for others. Think about what Jesus did for you; He had us always on His mind.

Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, we rejoice to exalt the name of Your darling son, Jesus.

Father, thank You for sending Him into the world so that we would not have to die for our own sins.

Father, help us to learn from His example, and be more others centered as we fulfill the purpose for which we are still alive today. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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